Forever Young
by Gloredhel
Summary: This is a story about Danny Jr. that I will be updating constantly with new chapters. it's about his life as a teenager, mainly 17 years old. Please R&R and tell me whether or not you like it?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** well guys here I am again, typing up another story…I hope you all like it. It's a Danny Jr. thing, really. I'm putting some romance in there, but I'll try not to make it too cliché. Well, he's 17 during the whole thing (discounting of course his memories…age is as noted!), and he knows about Danny Sr. and he always has. It's following the premise of Stuck In A Moment, my other story. Okie doke? Please tell me if you like it by reviewing it, and whether or not you want me to continue it…thanks a bunch J love, axlette

**Disclaimer:** Anything that you don't recognize from the movie is miiine

                                                **           Forever Young          **

            _…Tell me. That's all she said…Tell me. She was beautiful, everything that made up my world. Since we were little, I had told her everything I ever felt, longed for, or needed and she had always understood. But now…now was different. We sat there on the hill watching the sun set behind the trees and I closed my eyes to remember a time more far away…a simpler time…_

            "Come on, get up Danny boy," Rafe cooed at his 11-year-old son, trying to rouse him from his bed.

            "Hmmm?" Danny mumbled from under his covers.

            "Time to get up, the sun's risin'. Gotta get some work done on that duster."

            He stuck his tiny head above the blanket and looked at his father. Rafe was tall and muscular, with a tanned complexion and gold-tinted brown hair. His eyes were big and hazel and strong, but they were also sad. Danny knew why.

            "I'll be out in five minutes," he yawned, watching Rafe saunter out of the room.

^^^^^^^^

            The sun shone bright on Danny's dark, wispy hair as he carried the toolbox to the barn where his dad was working. As he walked towards the big red building, he saw a woman and a child wandering toward their house.

            "Pa?" he called inside the barn, putting down the toolbox inside the door. "There's some folks here to see ya."

            "Did you see who it was?" Rafe called out.

            "Nah, just some lady and her daughter I guess."

            Rafe stood up from under the plane and wiped the sweat off of his brow with his forearm. 

            "You stay here and keep workin' on that thing, got it?" 

            "Yea, pa. I got it." Danny smiled as Rafe patted him on the shoulder and walked outside.

            Tinkering around in airplanes was the one thing he truly loved, besides his parents. He had developed his father's knack for flying early on, and loved taking the old crop duster up, especially in the early evening. He loved the way the sky looked as the sun turned it orange and pink and purple, just before it disappeared behind the horizon.  

            "Danny?" Rafe called from outside. "Come on out here."

            He put down his wrench and stepped out onto the grass. His dad was talking to a short, chubby woman in a big straw hat. Next to her stood a girl who looked his age, with long, light brown hair and bright brown eyes. She was his height, a scrawny little thing with tiny tanned limbs. Her mother had her dressed in a light sundress. 

            "What, pa?" Danny asked wearily. He knew what was coming next.

            "Well there, Danny boy, "Rafe began, putting his arm around his son's shoulders. "This little beauty here is Janie MacCourt. She's the same age as you, and she and her mama and papa just moved in down the road. So Mrs. MacCourt and I were thinkin' that maybe you could give her a little tour, show her the ropes. Eh?"

            Danny shrugged, feeling contempt at having to show some prissylittle girl around _his_ turf.

            "Fine," he muttered, grabbing the girl by the arm and taking her back toward the fields.

            "Where are we goin'?" she asked quietly as they walked away from their parents.

            "I'm gonna show you the ropes, remember?" he sneered.

            "You don't have to be so rude, ya know."

            "I don't care, I'll do what I wanna do. I'm gonna show you the creek."

            He began to ran toward the woods, not caring much if she caught up before he got there or not. She was just a stupid girl, and everyone knows you can't have fun with stupid little prissy girls.

            Janie chased him down into the woods and stopped only when she saw the "creek". It might as well have been a river for all she knew; it was wide and deep and sparkling under the tall trees.

            "Wow," she breathed excitedly.

            "Yea, wow. Not that you could ever fully appreciate the true value of a creek like th-…" Danny was cut short as she shoved him into the chilly water.

            When he came back up she was on the ground laughing, tears rolling from her eyes as she gasped for breath. Slowly, he slunk over to the edge and yanked her leg, throwing her into the creek with him. When all was said and done, they were both laughing in the water, beating up on each other like old pals.

            "I gotta say Janie," Danny confessed as he watched her climb up a tree branch to jump. "You're a lot neater than I thought you'd be."

            "Oh, shut up," she laughed, leaping off and landing on him.

^^^^^^^

             _"I want you to tell me," she said, leaning her head on my shoulder. "I want to be there for you."_

_            But I can't tell her; what if she judges me? That's what the others did. And who are they to assume what they want to about _my_ life? But I love her…she's different from them. I hope._

**A/N:** so…what do you all think? I'll be posting Chapter 2 later tonight. PLEASE review!


	2. Chapter 2

            …Looking at her as the watched the clouds turn their nightly colors, I thought about the times she had been there for me. She'd never let me down before; why shouldn't she know? I felt awful; keeping this secret from her was something I had never intended to do. But it was too terrible, too humiliating. She could never understand. But then, maybe she had all along…

            Janie sat on Danny's couch, watching him play solitaire on the wooden coffee table; they were fifteen now. Evelyn, his mother, swooped in every now and then to dust the bookshelves and clean off the picture frames that were scattered about the McCawley living room. One picture had always intrigued her for it's sheer charm. It was black and white and framed in Teak. Three people smiled back at her from the photograph. Two of them were Danny's parents, the other she had never seen before. He was handsome and simple at the same time, his chiseled features and deep-set eyes enticing her. The two men wore Air Force uniforms from during the war. Evelyn wore a black dress that brought out her beautiful pale skin.

            "Danny?" Janie asked, intrigued.

            "Yea?" he responded, looking up from his cards.

            "Who is he?" She picked up the picture and sat back down next to him, on leg folded under her.

            "He's…uh, well, he's my daddy's best friend."

            "I've never seen him around here before. What's his name?"

            "Danny. Danny Walker. See, he died a long time ago, in the war. I never met him."

            "You're pa musta been heartbroken," she sighed. "So that's his grave out there then…they look real happy together here."

            "They grew up together on this farm. Went into the force together. When everyone thought dad died, he stayed behind in Hawaii and…looked after things for him. Then when pa came back they fought at Pearl Harbor together, and then they got shipped to Tokyo for a raid. That's where he died." Danny looked down at the carpet.

            "How?"

            "I dunno, they never told me."

            "He looks a lot like you, Danny. Did they name you after him?"

            "Yea, he was real special to them. I don't think I look like him though."

            "Well you do, maybe he made it that way, so they'd never forget him."

            "Ahh Janie, that's just wishful thinking."

            "Even so…"

            Evelyn came bustling in, and looked over the kids' shoulders.

            "Oh," she gasped, seeing the photo. "That's Danny," she whispered with a small, peaceful smile.

            "Do you miss him?" Janie questioned as Danny quietly resumed his game.

            "Of course," Evelyn answered, sighing wistfully. "We both do." She paused for a moment. "I guess I only wish that Danny could've met him, at least once."

            Danny suddenly stood up and stormed up to his room. Janie stood up to follow.

            "No, sweetheart," Evelyn reassured her, placing her hand gently on Janie's shoulder. "Let him be. He must be having a bad day. Come on, we'll make some lemonade in the kitchen, okay?"

            They smiled at each other and walked out of the room, not noticing as Danny descended the stairs quietly. He walked over to the picture that lay on the sofa and gingerly picked it up.

            "I hate you," he whispered, glaring at the older Danny. "This is your fault. Your fault."

            He placed the frame back on the table and wandered into the kitchen to help Janie and his mother.

^^^^^^^

            _…So it wasn't his fault. I know that now. But could she handle it, knowing that I had kept this from her for so long? She's been my best friend through thick and thin, but this is a lot to take in. I looked down at her and saw that her eyes were on me. _

_            "Danny," she whispered, "You don't have to tell me now. We have all the time in the world."_

_            God, I loved her more than anything right then. Even more reason that she should know._


	3. Chapter 3

            _…I had always loved her. It just took me a few years to figure out exactly how much. Now more than ever, as we sat on this hill together and I could feel her breath on my neck, did I know that she needed to hear my secret. I thought about the time  we first kissed; the night we really fell in love…_

            Danny stood outside her window, thinking about what he had done. He was a warm-blooded 17-year-old boy. He hadn't meant to kiss her while they were talking; it just happened. And she hadn't run off in fear, she just smiled and went inside her house without a word. But now he knew what he had to do; he had to tell her how he felt. Gently, he tapped on her window.

            The pane slowly slid upward and he climbed inside, careful not to make too much noise.

            "My mom and dad aren't home," she whispered as he closed the window behind him.

            "Uh…Janie? Can we talk?" he asked nervously.

            She nodded and stood in front of him.

            "Before…when I…kissed you…"

            "You didn't mean it, did you?" She asked, looking down.

            "No, that's just the thing. I did mean it. I was scared how you'd feel though."

            She looked up into his eyes. He had gotten taller, more muscular. He bit his bottom lip in anticipation, gazing into her deep, light brown eyes. The moonlight hit them at a spectacular angle and they seemed to glow.

            "Danny…I wanted that for a long time. I don't know why I didn't do it before you. You and me…we belong together. You've always been the most important person in my life."

            "But you deserve so much better than me, Janie. I'm nothing special. Knowing me, I'll screw up and hurt you."

            "You _are_ special…and if nobody else can see that, well, I sure as hell can. I don't want anybody else. And you could never hurt me, even if you tried, because I know that you care. And you know that I do."

            He moved a step closer and pressed his forehead against hers.

            "God, I think I love you…" he whispered into her ear. "But I can't, right…? We only just kissed today."

            "We've known each other just about forever, Danny… it's alright."

            "It is?"

            "Yes," she murmured, her warm breath hitting his lips. "I love you just as much, you know."

            He put his arm around her waist and drew her slim body to his.

            "Is this right?" he asked, breathing heavily.

            "Of course," she answered, her lips brushing gently over his.

            Her hand gripped onto the side of his neck as he kissed her tenderly.

            She responded with force and pulled him back onto her soft, warm bed. He lay on top of her, his body weighing hers down with a passionate embrace. Janie stretched her arms up above her head pushing her hips to his. Danny pushed his hand down her arms til he reached her hand and grasped it. She tugged on his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it to the side. They broke apart their mouths for only a second.

            "This is forever," Danny panted, staring her in the eyes.

            She stared back with fervor.     

            "Forever," she moaned, wrapping her leg over his back and pulling him to her.

^^^^^^^

            _…Forever. I meant it; and so did she. I'll tell her now._


	4. Chapter 4

            "You need to know something," Danny began, sitting straight up and taking Janie's hand in his.

            "Go on," she urged gently, looking him in the eyes.

            "It's just that…this isn't easy for me. At all. I've kind of kept something from you, for as long as you've known me."

            He paused looking up at the stars as they took over for the sun. The moon shone brightly on them, the tree above casting shadows across their faces.

            "Remember Danny…Danny Walker?" She nodded. "Well, he was my Pa's best friend. No matter what, Rafe'll always think of him as just that."

            She had never heard Danny call his dad Rafe before.

            "When everybody thought Rafe had died, Danny comforted Ma. They tried to stay in touch, but it was just too hard. He reminded her of him and vice-versa. So they didn't talk. Until three months later. He took her flying at sunset."

            Sighing, he watched as Janie looked on understandably, her eyes widening as it began to hit her.

            "So, Danny and Evelyn, my ma, they got together that night. And for a while after that. They thought pa was dead, ya know? Well she got pregnant. Shenever told him…Danny. And when Rafe got back from the dead they had to go off and fight. Rafe knew about the baby…me…and he tried to get Danny to stay home without letting him know. Evelyn didn't want him to know. But he died. He died saving my daddy's life."

            His eyes got a little wet, but he wouldn't cry.

            "He told Rafe to be my daddy, to take care of me and ma like I was his own. And he did just that. Rafe'll always be my father, but I can't forget Danny Walker."

            Janie sighed, clenching his hand harder. 

            "And the reason I couldn't tell you before was…I didn't want you to think I was a bastard. That ass Clay found out a long time ago from his Pops and he didn't let it go until he moved away. But I got a mom and dad, I ain't no bastard. No matter what, I got a dad."

            Janie smiled softly and placed her finger on his lips.

            "I would never think you were a bastard," she whispered into his ear. "And I love you even more for telling me. You can trust me, Danny. This is forever…remember? Danny Walker is your father, and he musta been a great man to produce someone as wonderful as you are. And Rafe is your Pa, and he loves you more than life itself. He sees Danny when he looks at you. And he misses him, I know it. You are his world, and I'm sure if Danny could see you now he'd be proud of you for being the way you are. I love you, Danny McCawley."

            She kissed him passionately, falling back onto the grass. He lay beside her, looking at her with all the love in the world. Together they watched the sky that night, and Danny wondered if his father was watching him from the other side.

**A/N:** Should I continue with more Danny and Janie? I kind of like them…they're fun. ;) Please tell me what you think, I'll only do it if you guys want me to.


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